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Tweaking Checkout Pages for Maximum Sales

Last week we looked at the reasons why so many shoppers abandoned their carts before checkout and examined some ways to help with the problem.
Today, we’re going to take it further by studying the best way to actually create a checkout page that minimises the chance of abandonment.

If you’re an online vendor, you’ll appreciate that just a small reduction in shopping cart abandonment can result in a significant rise in revenue. Contact the Sydney online marketing experts at SmartSEO if you want help with checkout page development.

The Fear Factor

The first thing to realise is that moving to a checkout page marks a major psychological shift for your visitor. Up until that point, there was no risk. He was just browsing.

Now he has to lay his money on the line and the old survival instincts kick in. His heart beats faster and he starts to fret about whether it’s really this is really good buy for him. He needs to know you’re the best vendor to buy from and that he can trust you. What he needs is reassurance. Here are some ways to generate that.

One simple concern the shopper may have is whether he’s buying the right item. That’s why it’s vital to have a picture of the product on the checkout page. A plain payment page with just a price may cause some confusion.

Other than the picture, you should add a few lines of text restating the benefits along the lines of: “In a few days your new t-shirt will arrive at your door ready for you to take on the world”. This can rekindle the buying mood.

As we saw last week, the major reasons customers didn’t complete their purchases was being hit with unexpected charges. It’s wise to add a line of text next to the total reassuring them that no additional costs will be levied.

Use inline validation on all forms such as when asking for details such as name and email address. This way a tick mark will appear after each piece of information is added.

Add the usual credit car and PayPal logos as these are symbols of trust.

After the Sale

After the purchase has been made, take the shopper to a page that states exactly what he’s bought, how much he paid, and when he’ll get his order. If it’s a downloadable products make that very clear and add a big “Download Now” button. You should also email these details to the customer and let him know you’re doing so.

As the customer is in a buying mood, it’s a good idea to add a “Continue Shopping” button, or insert details of similar or complementary products he might be interested in. You can learn a lot from amazon.com here.

Get in touch with the marketing experts at Smart SEO for help with checkout page development.

About Nathanael Vanderkolk

Nathanael Vanderkolk is the Director of the Smart SEO Company, a SEO Agency in Sydney, Australia. Smart SEO Sydney has a keen awareness of the latest approaches to online marketing. Follow him on Google+, Facebook and Twitter.